Classic Crispy Vegan Falafel
This vegan falafel recipe is your ticket to a quick, easy, and delicious meal that is both filling and flavorful. With its crispy exterior, soft interior, and a side of creamy tahini sauce, this recipe will make you feel like you are dining in a top-notch Middle Eastern restaurant.
Servings 30 falafels
Calories 19kcal
Equipment
- Food processor
- Cast-iron Dutch Oven (3-quart / 2.8 liter)
Ingredients
- 1+½ cup Chickpeas (dry not canned) dried, uncooked
- 1 Onion (medium)
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 0.8 oz Fresh parsley
- 0.6 oz Fresh cilantro
- 1+½ tsp Ground cumin seeds
- 2 Tbsp Sesame seeds
- 1 tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Black pepper
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- ½ cup Cold water
Instructions
Preparing the ingredients
- Soak dry chickpeas in cold water overnight. No cooking is needed. Drain them before using them.
- Wash and chop the leaves off parsley and cilantro.
- Peel garlic clove.
- Wash and roughly chop an onion.
- Measure all other ingredients.
Making the falafel mixture
- Use a food processor and add chopped onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, salt, black pepper, cumin, baking soda, and water.
- Pulse them until the mixture becomes creamy and grainy but not wholly pureed.
- Take a large bowl and empty the food processor into it. Add sesame seeds and mix them well.
- Chill the falafel mixture in the fridge for at least 1 hour. It is easier to form balls like that.
Deep-frying
- Use a spoon or your palms and form balls out of the chilled mixture.
- Preheat a large pot over medium heat. Add sunflower or coconut oil (not olive oil, but high-heat resistant and suitable for deep frying).
- Gently place a couple of balls in the hot oil. Don't drop them. Hot oil can splash up and cause blisters. Don't overcrowd the pan as well.
- Fry them for approx. 5 minutes. Fried balls should be brown but not burnt and vibrant green in the middle like in the below picture. We usually place them on a paper towel to capture any excess oil.
Video
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="HowZUgNz" upload-date="2022-09-20T17:43:48.000Z" name="Crispy Gluten-free Falafel" description="Is falafel gluten-free? There are 3 reasons why the answer is no: flour can be an ingredient, it is served with wheat flour-based pita bread, or cross-contaminated during deep frying. But if you want to be 100% sure, try our crispy gluten-free falafel recipe which uses no flour at all." player-type="default" override-embed="default"]
Notes
Other cooking methods are also possible, like air frying and baking. You can read more about them under the Variations section. If you want the closest texture to deep-frying, we recommend pan-frying.
- Use a spoon or your palms and form patties rather than balls. Flat patties are easier to flip and fry on all sides.
- Preheat a large frying pan or a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add sunflower or coconut oil (not olive oil, but high-heat resistant and suitable for deep-frying).
- Gently place a couple of patties. Leave enough space to flip them easily with a slotted turner.
- Pan-fry them for approx. 2-3 minutes on both sides. Fried patties should be brown with a greenish ribbon around the side. We usually place them on a paper towel to capture any excess oil.